Thistleyfield Rear and West of Orchard Place, Southend Arterial Road, Rayleigh, Essex, SS6 7TU

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• Whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the National Planning Policy Framework
• the effect of the development on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within the Green Belt
• the effect of the development on the character and appearance of the landscape
• the question of the need for Gypsy and Traveller sites
• the personal circumstances of the site occupiers
• If the development is inappropriate, whether the harm to the Green Belt by way of inappropriateness, and any other harm, would be clearly outweighed by other considerations so as to amount to the very special circumstances necessary to justify the development
• Whether the development would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt for the purposes of the Framework and development plan policy
• the effect of the stables, earth levelling and bunding on the openness of the Green Belt and the purposes of including land within the Green Belt
• the effect of the stables, earth levelling and bunding on the character and appearance of the landscape

What decided it

The absence of clearly outweighing very special circumstances for the Green Belt harm caused by the residential caravan use and by the disproportionately scaled stables and bunds, contrasted with the finding that the horse-keeping use and land levelling preserved openness and did not conflict with the development plan.

The Green Belt harm from inappropriateness and limited openness harm from the residential caravan use was not clearly outweighed by the moderated weight given to unmet Traveller need and personal circumstances; for the stables and bunds no other considerations were found to outweigh the identified Green Belt and landscape harm, whereas the horse-keeping use and land levelling attracted no countervailing harm and were found to accord with the development plan.